How parts of the kidney respond to low oxygen

A systems biology approach to identify cortical and medullary gene regulatory networks related to Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1A

NIH-funded research University of Michigan at Ann Arbor · NIH-11251812

This project maps how low-oxygen response genes act in different parts of the kidney to help people who have acute kidney injury.

Quick facts

Grant typeR03 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionUniversity of Michigan at Ann Arbor NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Ann Arbor, United States)
Project IDNIH-11251812 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

Researchers will analyze existing multiome data and new kidney tissue samples to see which gene 'switches' are active in the kidney cortex versus the medulla. They will look for open DNA regions where the low-oxygen regulator HIF1A and partnering transcription factors bind. By building gene regulatory networks for cortex and medulla cells, the team aims to show how cells change under low-oxygen stress. They will relate those cell states to known links with worse long-term outcomes.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates are people with acute kidney injury (or with available kidney biopsy tissue) who can provide or consent to use kidney biopsy samples, including samples contributed to the Kidney Precision Medicine Project.

Not a fit: Patients without acute kidney injury or those who cannot or will not provide biopsy tissue are unlikely to receive direct benefit from participating in this tissue-focused research.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new targets to protect kidney cells from low-oxygen damage and guide future treatments for acute kidney injury.

How similar studies have performed: HIF1A and cell-type gene patterns have been studied before and multiome approaches have identified cell-specific signals, but mapping cortex-versus-medulla HIF1A-related regulatory networks is a newer approach.

Where this research is happening

Ann Arbor, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.